Balance weekly- breathing

Greetings blogfriends. This week's post is one day late but believe it or not i am down with a cold yet again. The weather in Greece is unbelievably cold for this time of the year and my whole family has either fever or running noses. Such a bliss! I am drinking hot teas with honey and rest whenever i can. I think i will get through this one without antibiotics. Fingers crossed!
This week's balance weekly theme is breathing. I challenge you to work with your breath for a few minutes each day so that you can feel revitalised and refreshed, more relaxed and calmer by next Thursday. We all know how important breathing correctly is, but most of us do not pay enough attention to this valuable body function. Controlled breathing can calm us down, low our heart bit, alter our state of conciousness, fight hypertension and cardiovascular problems.
I personally think that the best time to work with my breath is when i am in bed before sleep. Especially with the full breath. It is a breath from yoga than combines abdominal and thoracic breath. You first breath in and fill your belly with air and as you do that your diaphragm rises and you continue the intake of air to your thoracic area and that makes your chest to rise. Then you first exhale the air from your chest(chest falls down) and empty your abdomen last(belly sinks into your body). When you first begin this exercise you can not easily do it in one fluent motion but it becomes easier in time. Also, at the beginning the breaths are shallower and shorter, but as you get used to controlled breathing they become longer and more relaxing.
But there is also a breath that can energise you and get you going. It is also a yoga technique and it is called the fire breath. Here you mainly focus on the exhale that has to be rhythmical and sharp. This breath is similar to a dog's breath after running. We use it in classical singing to strengthen our diaphragm because the whole motion is based on this particular area. When you first try it you can do it for just a few seconds, but it also gets easier. It is best to do it in the morning after you wake up.
Another way to controll your breath is to count. You count the inhale 1-2-3 you count the pause 1, the exhale 1-2-3-4-5 once again the pause 1. This way you do not focus on an area in your body but to the numbers. It is an excellent way to silence your mind before meditation. You can change the numbers to this exercise to fit your breath, but the goal is to make the exhale longer than the inhale. You count at a pace that suits you and as you practice, it becomes slower. If you work with aromatherapy and essential oils this is a wonderful time to use them.
Breath in magic symbolises life and the element of air. In some traditions there are rituals of withholding breath to symbolise death and rebirth. As you inhale think of all the beautiful things in your life. Imagine that this air is life, energy, love and prosperity. As you exhale let go of fear, negative emotions and anything that holds you down. With each breath you feel more free and relaxed. The air you inhale is the energy of the Universe, the blessing of the Goddess that unlocks the power within you.
So, today i ask you to join me for a week of happy breathing, a week to honour ourselves and lives.
Be blessed and love yourselves for the wonderful and amazing beings that you are.

Georgina.

Balance weekly-Spiritual dancing!

Greetings blogfriends. Today i am super excited. I won one of Magaly's giveaways. You should check out her blog. She is awesome! You can find her here: http://pagan-culture.blogspot.com/ . I have to tell you that doing the last post motivated me to drink at least two cups of tea per day. I feel rejuvenated and lighter! I want to thank all of you that tried to do it too. You are the most supportive group of blogfriends. So here i am again asking for your participation in yet another week of more balanced habits.
For this week's theme i was torn. I had so many things in my mind that i could n't decide which was the one we should try for a whole week. After a lot of consideration i decided it should be 15' of workout per day. For those of you that already work out, well..your job is done. But for the rest, i believe that a quarter of an hour is not intimidating. It can be as vigorous as you want, or simply a walk with your dog. You can do yoga, kick box, walk, run, cycle etc.
But my suggestion is a little more spiritual and cleansing. Spiritual dancing! You can do it while listening to whatever you want. You can choose from Lady Gaga to shamanic drums. Whatever speaks to you. Just dance from East to West in some sort of circle, following the movement of the Sun. Do not worry about being cool, or sexy, or funny, or even interesting while doing it. You just do what comes to mind. Listen to music and get lost to it. While you do it, try not to get interrupted, so you can enter a meditative state . Hear the rhythm and just revel in it. Lose yourself in the moment.
At this point i have to confess that i am no dancer. Ha! Believe you me! But i put on the music that feels more "shamanic" to me, i make some room in the living room and just start moving. After a while i find myself hopping, diving and "flying". I check the clock and see an hour has gone by and i am not even tired. And i am no athlete either. Speaking to the Goddess in such an ancient way makes me feel a part of this world. And i do not see modern furniture and electronical equipment, and i do not see buildings and cities and cars. For a while, it is me, with my eyes closed dancing around the fire that burns inside me, chanting, floating, free in my purest and wildest of forms.
If you have never tried it please do. I swear you will not regret it. Light your candles, burn some frankiscence, empty your mind form everyday thoughts and allow yourself the luxury of 15 minutes devoted to just you. You deserve it!
I love you guys! Thank you for being there for me!
Be blessed, be happy, be loved.
Georgina.

Balance weekly theme- Green Tea

Greetings blogfriends. I have been gone for so long. I hope you have n't forgotten your wacky, witchy, greek friend. It was a bit difficult for me over here. I had various health issues but nothing really major. I was down with tonsillitis, ear infection, asthma, pneumonia, fungus infection from all the antibiotics(twice), the flu... All that, made me realise i was out of balance, and although i am completely healthy for some time now(knock on wood!), i have been away from blogging and other activities i enjoy so much because i was trying to find harmony in my life! I have been visiting your blogs but i did n't leave any comments. I did n't go out much either. It felt like walking down an introvert spiral towards my core to strenthen again. I eat better, exercise almost regurarly, use only natural sweeteners and the most difficult of all... i try not to stress out. I have been working my magical ass off over here all this time, and there were so many things i wanted to share with you. I really missed being here.
I want to ask you to join me on my path trying to find balance. I want to make a weekly theme of exercises, routines, healthy or spiritual habbits and dedicate a week to one of them. See what can stay and what has to go. How do you feel about that?
This week's "obsession" is green tea. It has so many health benefits because of the powerful antioxidant substance it contains(catehins). It fights cancer, arthritis, heart disease, high cholesterol, infections, and it helps with dieting. After you have made your tea you can use the leaves stir them with some water in a cup and concentrate. See what images comes to your mind. Tasseography is a wonderful method of divination, but it is also very energy consuming, so do not forget to ground yourself properly before you begin. You can also dry the leaves and burn them as incenses, or use them in sachets for money, strenth, and health spells since tea has Sun properties. Although, tea is wonderful by itself it blends fantastically with lemon, mint, orange, peach. You can make a pitch with ice and hydrate yourself all day long. But do n't forget it contains a bit of caffeine! Most importantly, since we will do that for our health while you make it do n't forget to state your intention. For example, cleanse my body, cleanse my spirit...
So, who is going to join me with a cup a day for a week? Or who is doing it already?
Brightest blessings to all the blog land!